Souvanny Miller
About Souvanny
Souvanny Miller represents mission-driven public and private entities in litigation, pre-dispute, and general advice matters. She advises a wide range of educational institutions and municipal clients in a multitude of areas to help them minimize financial, reputational, and operational risk. Souvanny’s advocacy includes representing universities, schools, and municipalities in arbitrations, administrative proceedings, federal court, Oregon circuit courts, and before the Oregon Court of Appeals, as well as in board meetings and executive sessions. In any forum, Souvanny is responsive and considerate of her client’s overarching values and goals.
Souvanny regularly assists clients with questions of regulatory compliance, personnel matters, and constitutional law, and has helped various education institutions to develop and implement Title IX sexual harassment policies. Souvanny also provides advice relating to public meetings laws, public records laws, policy and municipal code drafting and revisions, planning and zoning, First Amendment issues, and contract disputes.
During law school, Souvanny served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Michael H. Simon at the U.S. District Court of Oregon. After law school, Souvanny served as a law clerk for the Oregon School Boards Association where she assisted staff attorneys in advising school boards and superintendents.
Representative Experience
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Higher Education—Regulatory Compliance Plus
Assisted multiple universities in preparing Title IX sexual harassment policies.
Advised multiple community colleges with respect to federal funding (CARES Act) spending requirements.
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Municipal Advice Plus
- Reviewed and revised municipal code based on intergovernmental agreement.
Provided general counsel advice to city council and staff during and outside of city council meetings as former city attorney for a small town. (Experience prior to joining Miller Nash)
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Litigation Plus
Obtained summary judgment and limited judgment including attorney fees in a contract dispute, with the award totaling over $90,000.
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Land Use Plus
Obtained favorable written opinion before the Oregon Court of Appeals in Currie v. Douglas Cnty., 308 Or App 235 (2020)
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, 2021
Activities
- Jackson County Bar Association, Secretary, 2019
- Coos Bay Oregon Law Center/Central Oregon Legal Aid Services of Oregon, Expungement Clinic Pro Bono Attorney, 2022-present
- Southern Oregon Child and Family Council (Head Start), Board Member, 2018-2019
Recognition
- Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® (Portland, OR)
- Labor and Employment Law—Management, 2024-present
- Selected for inclusion as an Oregon Super Lawyer—Rising Star, 2022-present
Insights from Souvanny
- “It’s a New Academic Year in Washington–Tips and Reminders for Applying Your Revised Title IX Policy,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, News You Can Use, coauthor (Sept. 2020)
- “Title IX—Yes, This is Really Happening Right Now. Key Considerations in Anticipation of the August 14 Effective Date.” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, News You Can Use (June 2020)
- “Public Meetings Checklist for COVID-19 Emergency Period,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, News You Can Use (May 2020)
- “Managing Data Security and Privacy Issues with Remote Learning Technology,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, K-12 Education: News You Can Use (Apr. 2020)
- “Over-Drafting Oregon: The Case Against Groundwater Mining,” Lewis & Clark Law School, Environmental Law, comment, Vol. 47-2 (2017)
- “Recognizing and Responding to Unconscious Hiring Practices,” 2023 Spring Conference, Oregon School Personnel Association (May 2023)
- “Parental Rights - Basics and Beyond!” Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, 42nd Annual Oregon School Law Conference, copresenter (Dec. 2022)
- “Strategic Risk Management: Keeping the Trains Running on Time,” Miller Nash, Employment Law Seminar (Oct. 2022)
- “Hindsight is 20/20: Lessons From the Front Lines,” Oregon School Personnel Association, 2022 Fall Summit, copresenter (Oct. 2022)
- “Covering Your Bases: The First Amendment and Public Employee Speech,” Oregon School Personnel Association, Summer Conference (July 2022)
- “Examining the Unique Constellation of Wage & Hour Issues, Updates, and Audits,” Miller Nash, Employment Law Seminar (Dec. 2021)
- “Who’s the Boss? The Intersection of Parental Rights and School Authority,” Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, 41th Annual Oregon School Law Conference (Dec. 2021)
- “Documentation—How to Do It, How to Keep It, Who Gets to See It,” Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, 41th Annual Oregon School Law Conference (Dec. 2021)
- “Did the Curve Flatten on Performance Management? Managing Legal Risks in 2021-22,” Oregon School Personnel Association, 2021 Spring Conference (Apr. 2021)
- “A Toolbox for Handling Employee Expression in Difficult Times: Politics and Religion in the Workplace,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Employment Law Seminar (Dec. 2020)
- “Reinforcing the Structure: Employee Mental Health and Mental Health Accommodations in Times of Enhanced Societal Pressures,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Employment Law Seminar (Dec. 2020)
- “Student Mental Health Issues During COVID-19,” Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, 40th Annual Oregon School Law Conference (Dec. 2020)
- “FERPA, Data Privacy, and Remote Learning: Considerations in a Global Pandemic,” Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, 40th Annual Oregon School Law Conference (Dec. 2020)
